ABAC was never in need of another arm when Jen Walls was head coach. It was no problem for Walls to step into the circle during batting practice.

TIFTON — Tift County softball expects its deepest roster in some time in 2023. The squad can say the same about its coaching staff. Former Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College head softball coach Jen Walls has joined the coaching staff for the Lady Devils this year and the teaching staff at Tift County High.

Walls served as ABAC’s head coach from 2015-23, winning the GCAA championship in 2019. The Fillies reached the semifinals of the 2023 tournament on a 31-18 record, 20-4 in the conference.

Why an ultra-successful college coach is stepping into an assistant role — Taylor Barber is Tift’s head coach — is a simple one: Family.

Walls said the number of games, long road trips and recruiting meant she saw little of her family, especially her children, who are 6 and 1 years old. She was only able to see one youth game this year for her daughter, Riley.

“I made this realization that I’ve probably been home in the past month-and-a-half than I have all year,” Walls said of her time since switching schools. “I have thoroughly enjoyed being home with the girls.”

There are many benefits to teaching in the Tift school system. Their spring break and Christmas schedules line up. “That is going to be awesome,” she said.

Walls does admit the summer has gone by too fast. Some of that has to do with the differences in college and high school softball in Georgia.

Softball is a fall sport in the Peach State, as opposed to spring in college, and in most other high schools in America. So, barely 10 weeks after the ABAC Fillies played their final contest of 2023, Tift will be on the field for a scrimmage against Cook. The regular season debut is scheduled for Aug. 8 at Crisp County.

Still, Walls said, as someone who loves routine, she’s ready to jump back into a schedule.

“I’m excited to get back with the high school girls,” she said. The feeling seems to be mutual. “They have welcomed me, not just the girls but the other coaches,” Walls said. She and Barber are working well together. Walls said she is “100% OK” with not being the head coach and, in turn, Barber has spoken often over the summer of his admiration for Walls as a coach and what she brings to the team.

“Now, I get to put my expertise into pitching and catching,” Walls said.

With Abraham Baldwin and Tift County High not only in the same county, but within shouting distance of one another, Barber and Walls have been familiar with each other for years. The familiarity grew this year when Walls reached out to tell him she was thinking about changing teams.

Their styles seem to mesh well. She said both are players’ coaches.

Even with the desire to spend more time with family, leaving the Fillies did not come easy.

“It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” she said. “But I told [Barber], ‘I think this is going to be right for my family.’”

Not only has family time increased with the high school schedule, Walls feels that she has become part of a bigger family.

“What I love about Tift County,” she said, “is that it’s very family-oriented.”

Both Barber and assistant Greg Williams (who is also head baseball coach) have their young families around often. Williams’ oldest, also named Riley, will be playing for the high school Lady Devils this year. Riley Walls has become friends with Williams’ younger daughters, who are closer to her age.

“Everybody has been so welcoming,” she said. “i’ve been having a really good time.”

There is not much difference between college and high school players, she said. “I’m still coaching, it’s just a different age group.” The goals have some differences. Walls said she is focused on helping them grow. Plus, being able to see them develop for four years. ABAC switches to being a four-year college in 2024, but all the teams Walls has coached have, of course, topped out at sophomores.

Since the beginning of summer, all Lady Devils coaches have very enthusiastic about their potential this season. A group that started since freshman year are seniors. There are no juniors on the roster, but the group after looks like they will carry on the grand Tift tradition on the diamond.

“I’m excited to see with what the program does with the girls this year,” Walls said. “We have a really, really talented younger group coming through.”

Softball, Walls knows well, but she will have a new experience elsewhere. She will teach ninth grade English, her first classroom experience. Walls said she has been given advice that classroom management and coaching are similar. While not sure if the advice was given in jest, she said she’s going to try it.

She has found the staff equally welcoming at Tift County High. Walls and Lady Devils head basketball coach Julie Conner-Johnson have reminisced about their ABAC coaching days.

Walls said her undergraduate degree was in English, with a Master’s in Business. As an undergraduate student, she thought she wanted to teach high school English. “The journey I’ve taken to get there has been interesting,” she said. “Now, I have found myself being a high school English teacher and coaching.”

She said she felt it is her turn to prepare students for college, using her experiences at the college level to help guide them. “It’s a new adventure and I’m looking forward to it.”